ANNAPOLIS, Md. –– Jordan Llewellyn (So., Port Deposit, Md.) recorded five aces and shared the team lead with six kills in a 3-0 (25-13, 25-16, 25-15) victory by the Navy (10-11, 6-6) volleyball team over Bucknell (6-16, 2-11), Saturday afternoon at the Wesley A. Brown Field House in Annapolis.

"We spent quite a bit of the week going back to basics with the passing and serving phase of the game," said Navy head coach Paco Labrador.  "The numbers really reflect that with our team hitting percentage (.324) and ace total (13)."

It took a little while for Navy to find its rhythm in the opening set.  The Mids didn't score a point on their own serve until a Bucknell attack error drew Navy to within 9-8 of the Bison.  After back-to-back sideouts made the score 10-9, a short run gave Navy a 12-10 lead.  The margin was again three points at 15-12 when a kill by Llewellyn gave the Mids a 16-12 advantage and sent Llewellyn to the service line. Her last offering came with Navy in front 22-12.

The Mids hit a blistering .412 (9 kills, 2 errors, 17 attempts) in the first set and they limited the Bison to a (-).167 effort (7 kills, 12 errors, 30 attempts).

Navy slowly edged its way out to an 11-5 lead in the second set.  The advantage soon grew to 19-14 when Llewellyn again went to the back line to serve.  Kills by teammate Taylor Gray (Sr., Huntington, Beach, Calif.) and Cami Herman (Sr., Brookfield, Wis.) made the score 21-14, then Llewellyn recorded three-straight service aces to take the Mids to set point.

The third set was close though the first half as Navy held just a 10-9 lead.  A kill by Gray doubled the lead, then Maggie Bodman (So., Northbrook, Ill.) recorded an ace of her own.  Two Bucknell attack errors took the advantage to 14-9.  The teams played sideout volleyball over the ensuing few points to make the score 16-12.  A Bucknell service error returned the serve to Navy, after which Kimberly Lynch (Sr., Murrietta, Calif.) moved to the service line.  Bodman recorded a kill, then she posted a solo block.  Lynch promptly tallied back-to-back aces and just like that the lead had ballooned to 21-12.

"Our setters put their hitters in some great positions to score," said Labrador.  "They made some good decisions and delivered some nice balls in tough spots.  Our defense was really dialed into the game plan and executed adjustments when Bucknell started mixing up their lineup."

Navy as a team recorded 13 aces in the match, with six different Mids accounting for at least one ace.  To make the Mids even more effective from the service line, they committed just seven service errors.  In contrast, Bucknell tallied three aces and seven service errors.

That Navy serving helped it to a .324-.037 advantage in hitting percentage.  The Mids recorded 33 kills against nine attack errors and the Bison totaled 24 kills and 21 attack errors.  Nearly half of those Bucknell errors were due to Navy holding a 9-2 edge in blocks.

Llewellyn, Bodman and Herman all tallied six kills, with Gray and Avery Stowell (Sr., Yorba Linda, Calif.) each posting five kills.  Stowell also recorded three aces.  Setters Averi Miller (So., Phoenix, Ariz.) dished out 13 assists and Celie Feighery (Jr., Oak Hill, Va.) tallied 12 assists.  Defensively, Herman led the Navy passers with eight digs and Bodman had a hand in six blocks.

Navy heads into its last home match of the regular season Sunday against Lehigh (2 p.m.) needing to win to clinch a berth into the Patriot League Tournament.  The Mids fell to the Mountain Hawks in five sets when the met earlier this season.  Lehigh posted a five-set victory at Loyola on Saturday.